A programme at Health receives an international seal of approval

Everyone at the Section of Orthodontics is happy right now. After a five-year trial membership, the postgraduate programme in orthodontics at the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health is finally a full-fledged member of the prestigious Network of Erasmus Based European Orthodontic Postgraduate Programmes (NEBEOP).

The programme has been admitted to the network because it meets many, very strict quality requirements, including requirements regarding research-based teaching, the complexity of clinical work and the number of treatments that students need to perform during the programme.

"This is a huge seal of approval for the postgraduate programme, and it shows that the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health is on par with the best European educational institutions," says Lise Wogensen Bach, vice-dean for education.

A+ application

Associate Professor Peter Stoustrup is head of the three-year postgraduate programme, which is one of the few international programmes at Health. Unlike e.g., the University of Copenhagen, the programme admits and trains dental specialists from all over the world.

Peter Stoustrup was in charge of the comprehensive application process, which took about six months. The application, including appendices, was more than 200 pages long, and in March, a small delegation from NEBEOP visited Aarhus for a site visit to see the department's facilities and to interview management, employees, and postgraduate students. The visit resulted in a report and a nomination to the board of NEBEOP, which has now announced Aarhus University's full-fledged membership.

"It’s a team effort, and the membership is a pat on the back for the entire section. For over the 30 years, this section has helped create an internationally recognised postgraduate programme and a unique research and education environment for both staff and students here in Aarhus," says Peter Stoustrup, who is also head of the Section of Orthodontics.

He is not only proud of the seal of approval, but also proud of the unusually few remarks that accompanied the admission. According to the head of section, it is extremely rare for an admission to go so smoothly.

Not an exclusive club

Peter Stoustrup explains that, over the last 15-20 years, orthodontics has become big business, which is why so many private programmes have cropped up across the globe. The NEBEOP programme was established in 2008 as a way of separating the wheat from the chaff and ensuring the quality of dental specialist programmes in orthodontics by creating some sort of a European golden standard.

As a result, there are many requirements for admission and the documentation that educational institutions need to provide is extensive. According to Peter Stoustrup, however, NEBEOP is not an exclusive club. On the contrary, there is plenty of room:

"It's difficult to become a member of NEBEOP, and membership is reassessed every three years, but the goal is to have as many members as possible. It enhances the quality of education and means even more skilled specialist dentists are trained across the globe. It’s in everyone’s interest, not least the patients.”

Contact

Associate Professor and Head of Section Peter Stoustrup
Aarhus University, Department of Dentistry and Oral Health
Mobile: +45 20 85 95 88
Email: pstoustrup@dent.au.dk